5. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Coen Brothers have never been afraid to tell very bizarre stories but in conventional genre placements. Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski and No Country for Old Men are all examples of this. O Brother, Where Art Thou? seems like a very traditional story of Americana but is really a showcase for the Coens to make a movie that allows them to re-work another genre and add their trademark wit to tell a unique overall story. The way the narrative re-works Homer's Odyssey provides a strong background for the story to explore Mississippi during the Great Depression. The film is full of the Coens screwball comedy sensibilities but the look of the film is unlike anything they've ever done before or after. They used digital color correction to give the cinematography a sepia tone that perfectly re-captures the essence of the time period in which the story takes place.